Speaker of the House discusses equal opportunities in politics and violence against women at a meeting of women parliamentarians

Markéta Pekarová Adamová, President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, attended the two-day summit of women parliamentarians in Paris. The joint meeting was divided into two broader thematic blocks. The first one focused on the issues of equal opportunities for women and men in high politics.

"The representation of women in our Chamber of Deputies has increased since the last elections. The current proportion is 25%, which is the highest ever. Nevertheless, this is a low figure and it is still true that women's experience and perspectives are often noticeably lacking in Czech politics and in many other decision-making positions. Equitable participation of women and men in decision-making is not just a matter of abstract human rights, but a fundamental prerequisite for the effective design and implementation of concrete public policies," said Markéta Pekarová Adamová, Chair of the Chamber of Deputies.

The second thematic block focused on the current issue of violence against women. "Even forms of violence against women evolve over time. This is happening especially in connection with the rise of new social media. Therefore, preventing and combating cyber violence has become a priority for our government. We will integrate the issue of gender-based violence and its new forms into basic education to strengthen its prevention. We will also continue to train those providing assistance to victims of these forms of violence to ensure that they are treated sensitively and have access to justice. Last but not least, we need to review existing legislation to ensure that it provides adequate protection for victims. To this end, last month we approved an amendment to the Criminal Code in the Chamber of Deputies, which, among other things, changes the definition of rape from forcible to non-consensual sexual intercourse," said Markéta Pekarová Adamová, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies.

The summit, which brought together 25 female legislative leaders from Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and Oceania, took place in the French capital on the occasion of the upcoming International Women's Day. The participants were received at the Elysee Palace by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron.